


Rain Showers & Shower Showers

by Lyradaisical



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Canon Divergent from S1, F/M, Identity Reveal, In which Gabriel isn't so much of a douche, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2020-01-27
Packaged: 2021-02-18 01:07:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21502765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyradaisical/pseuds/Lyradaisical
Summary: Rain has been special to Marinette ever since Adrien walked into her life. Despite her decision to keep her relationships at a safe distance due to her job as a superhero, Marinette finds the rain bringing her closer to Adrien.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 36
Kudos: 534





	1. Déjà Vu

Rain wasn't in the forecast that day so Adrien was a little surprised to find the sky weeping when he exited the school. It must have just started because he didn't recall seeing or hearing it during his last class. He looked up at the sky, lumbering with thick grey clouds. He had taken note of the distant clouds that morning when he woke to a dark and gloomy room, but against better judgment, he didn't grab an umbrella. At least he only had a short distance from the school to the car to worry about. 

Adrien gripped the strap to his bag and prepared to make the dash to the car when a shadow loomed over him. He looked up to see a pink umbrella hovering over his head and turned to his left to see Marinette looking at him curiously before a smile stretched on her face. 

"I'll walk you." She said without a trace of a stutter. They had known each other for almost two years now as they were nearing the end of their first year in high school. While Adrien was still near and dear to her heart, Marinette no longer had the resolve to pursue him. There was just too much going on in her life and she no longer had the luxury to consider a romance.

It was a damn shame though, she thought wryly.

The time that passed had done Adrien well. He had grown taller, that even when Marinette had heeled boots on, she seemed pitifully short. His features had become sharper, losing some of the baby fat he had in his cheeks. Most of it had happened during the last summer and she found herself flabbergasted by the drastic change that occurred over the span of two months. Handsome was an understatement as everyone perpetually fawned over him. But despite all that, he still carried in him a sort of brightness and innocence that reminded Marinette of sunshine.

"Thanks." Adrien couldn't help but return Marinette's smile. There was something about it that always managed to cheer him up. Even though both of their best friends were dating each other, forcing him and Marinette together more often, he wasn't as close to her as it would be expected. She was fun to be around, he gathered as much, from the few times they did hang out together. He would have liked to learn more about one of his first friends but their schedules always seemed to conflict with one another. His schedule still consisted of the usual modeling and lessons but Marinette had become busier, becoming more involved with fashion designing and helping out at the bakery. 

Adrien inwardly sighed when they reached the car. He was so busy with his thoughts that their thirty seconds together went by in silence. He spared her a grateful glance as she shifted the umbrella when he opened the car door, so that it wouldn't get wet inside. Before entering, Adrien looked at his phone to check the time. He still had an hour before piano lessons and looked up at her expectantly. 

"I could ask Gorilla to give you a ride." Adrien said, hoping that she'd accept. He had to admit that he was craving some sort of friendly attention. He and Nino still hung out but since the latter had gotten a girlfriend, they didn't hang out as much as they used to.

Marinette's eyes shifted to the left as she looked into the distance in the direction of her home. She missed the days of living next to school and found that she had to put extra effort into making it to school on time. She became a little better at balancing her civilian life with the superhero one, making fewer slip-ups as she got more experience living her double life. A sigh passed her lips when she thought of her eventual patrol in the rain that night. She turned her eyes back to him, happy that he offered.

"It's alright. It's not that far of a walk." Marinette said, eyes looking wistful. She liked walking in the rain, under the sound of the droplets hitting her umbrella. It was calm and soothing and it reminded her of the day when she fell in love for the first time. She liked to relish in that feeling, as the responsibility of being Ladybug didn’t give her the chance to dwell on her romantic life.

Adrien was disappointed but he didn't press her. He didn't want to seem too needy, too clingy. Marinette was finally feeling more comfortable around him and he didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. It was irrational thinking since he knew Marinette was too kind to be off put by something like that. But just the small possibility of it was enough to place the fear of being rejected into his heart. So he just nodded and smiled. 

A trill voice pulled them both out of their gazes at each other and Marinette felt her body being shoved roughly. Adrien's eyes widened as she lost her balance and quickly grabbed her arm before she could fall to the wet ground. Unfortunately, her umbrella had flown out of her hand from the impact and the rain came pouring down on her. He, on the other hand, was under the protection of the offender's umbrella—although he was feeling that he'd much rather get wet than be under the same umbrella as Chloé at the moment.

Chloé briefly glanced at Marinette with a satisfied and smug glint in her eyes before she turned her attention back to Adrien. He gave her an exasperated frown, displeased with the way she treated Marinette, but she paid it no mind. 

"I just wanted to remind you that my birthday party is this Saturday." Chloé said. 

Adrien was annoyed by the sheer fact that she had barged in between him and Marinette only to tell him something that he already knew. Her unrelenting dislike for Marinette had clearly grown even more as they aged and he found it childish and unattractive. It was a shame. Chloé would be a pretty girl if her personality wasn't so off-putting most of the time.

"Chloé, that was rude." Adrien sighed and narrowed his eyes at her. But that was the extent of his scolding. Even though he became fed up with her often, he couldn't bring himself to say much against her. She was his oldest friend and somewhere deep inside of him, he clung onto the memories of the happy little girl that smiled brightly whenever they played together. 

Chloé didn't seem to give a hoot about his words. She just rolled her eyes and told him not to be late before walking towards her own ride. As his unwanted protection from the rain walked off, the rain began to pelt against his body. He let out another sigh and turned to Marinette. 

Marinette just stared at him before her eyes flitted over to her umbrella. Adrien then realized that he was still holding her arm, preventing her from retrieving it. His face flushed and he quickly let her go.

"Sorry." He apologized but she just brushed it off with a laugh. She grabbed her umbrella and shook it before bringing it back up over their heads. 

"Well... So much for that, huh? You ended up getting wet anyway." Marinette smiled sheepishly. 

"I'm really sorry about that. You wouldn't have gotten wet if you didn't walk me." Adrien looked genuinely upset and Marinette's heart clenched, thinking that he was just so endearingly sweet. 

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. We all know Chloé just finds me so irresistible that she can't keep her hands off of me." Marinette joked, hoping that it'd bring his smile back. Adrien blinked and stared at her for a good bit before bursting out in laughter. 

The warmth in her chest rose and spread to her cheeks as she listened to him. His laughter was truly music to her ears. When his laughter died down, he inhaled and caught his breath.

"See you tomorrow." A gentle smile stretched across his face and he bid her goodbye before turning and entering the car. Marinette raised a hand and waved, feeling a sense of deja vu. 

"See you tomorrow."

But this time, she managed to get her words out. 


	2. La Bise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette encounters Adrien working while heading to the Trocadero to draw. Adrien and Nathalie enlist her help so that they can stay on schedule and finish before the rain comes.

Whenever Marinette needed some inspiration for her designs, she would often go to the Trocadero. It was her favorite place to go for ideas as it was always bustling with people. It was a big tourist spot and it was interesting to see what people from all over the world wore. That specific day, however, she was just looking for some peace and to her luck, the early morning and less than perfect weather kept people away.

The skies continued to be gloomy, clouds hanging low as if threatening to spill at any moment. The brisk winds of the morning chilled her and she shuddered, thankful that she had put on a jacket before leaving home. She walked along the pathway of the Trocadero Gardens and studied the trees and fountains that were dully colored against the grey backdrop of the sky. She had to admit that the scenery usually looked better under the sunlight. But she found a certain charm in dreary days that other people didn't seem to care for. So color her surprised when she saw Adrien there getting ready for a photoshoot. 

Marinette blinked a few times, not sure if she was seeing correctly. But after several attempts at clearing her vision, she decided that the blonde-haired angel in the distance was in fact, Adrien. A sizable tent was erected close to them, probably housing the wardrobe and changing room. She proceeded cautiously towards the end of the fountains where they were setting up the light kits, careful not to attract attention and get in anyone's way. The photographer was tweaking his camera and the dress team busily adjusted Adrien's clothing so that it was just right for the photos. Adrien caught sight of her and a large grin appeared on his face, his pearly whites brilliant enough to substitute for the sunlight that was absent that day. 

"Marinette!" He called to her so eagerly that her heart nearly jumped out of her chest. He sounded so happy to see her and it made her feel ridiculously special. Several of the people with him glanced over at her, curious about whom the model was so excited to see. She smiled shyly and waved to him, not quite close enough that they could talk without yelling. He sighed impatiently at the people tugging at his clothes, waiting for them to finish so he could talk to his friend. But it seemed that the photographer was finally done setting up his equipment and ready to start. His lips fell into a slight pout and she giggled at how adorable he was. 

She turned and found a spot on the steps behind the photographer and sat down, carefully holding the back of her white skater skirt down so that it didn't rise up as she bent over. She plopped her messenger bag down by her side and pulled out her sketchbook, placing it on her black leggings-covered legs. Adrien would be more than enough of an inspiration, she thought fondly. 

Marinette studied his clothing. He was wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, along with a red buttoned shirt. The top few buttons of the shirt were undone and a black t-shirt peeked out from underneath. The redness of his shirt stood out glaringly against the monochrome scenery. She could see the final images in her mind—a handsome young man standing out so clearly amongst the drab world behind him. 

Marinette remembered that she too was wearing red and mused that they matched. She pulled herself together in the comfort of her red jacket and sighed contentedly. She began to sketch as she watched him pose.

Every now and then, Adrien's eyes would flit over to her and he'd shoot her his kilowatt smile. Each time, she felt her composure crumble even more. Even the spring morning cold couldn't make her cheeks feel frosty. 

About half an hour into the shoot, she noticed a familiar woman approaching Adrien. Nathalie was her name if she remembered correctly—Gabriel's executive assistant. She must have told him that he could have a little break because he gleefully peered over to Marinette before nodding at Nathalie. He began walking towards her and she stood up to meet him halfway. 

"Great work." Marinette commended him. He thanked her and took notice of the sketchbook that she held against her body. 

"Working on designs?" He asked. 

"Yeah, I usually come here for inspiration. I didn't expect to see you." She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear timidly. She opted to leave her hair down to keep her neck warm and really hoped that the humidity wasn't making it frizzy.

"Even on a day like this?" He raised an eyebrow. It wasn't exactly the best day weather-wise to be sitting outside.

"Days like these are nice every now and then." Marinette shrugged. "I could say the same to you. It's a strange day to be doing an outdoor photoshoot." 

"Wanna hear a secret?" Adrien asked, with a mischievous grin on his face. It was Marinette's turn to raise a brow. "I begged Nathalie to move some stuff around to fill my schedule up today so I could avoid going to Chloé's." He revealed. 

"No way!" Marinette's mouth dropped open and she stared at him with wide eyes in disbelief. She never expected Adrien to do something like that. "You didn't!"

Adrien laughed at Marinette's reaction and assured her that he did. While he had felt rather bad about skipping out on it, he just wasn’t up for going to the party and a part of him was a little spiteful about what she did to Marinette. 

A distance away, the photographer zoomed his lens on the teens and snapped a few photos. He had worked with Adrien many times and even though the boy was great at making different facial expressions, he'd never seen true happiness radiating from him before. The photographer grinned, happy with how lively the shots were. They were just two teens, having a good time and it was even better that they matched. He showed Nathalie the candid photos and she was impressed with them. They were unlikely to use them but she figured that Adrien would probably like them.

Nathalie looked at her tablet to check the time and tapped her pen against it impatiently. There was an issue with the jacket that went along with his current outfit and they were waiting on the alterations specialist to come and fix it. After another ten minutes of waiting and no tailor showing up, Nathalie sighed and approached the teens. Adrien noticed the frown on her face and asked what was wrong. 

"Stephen still hasn't shown up. We'll have you model the other pieces first and hopefully, he'll be here to fix the jacket before we're done." 

"Okay," Adrien said and turned back to Marinette. "I have to head back." He told her. She nodded before hesitantly speaking up. 

"Is there a problem?" Marinette asked. Both Adrien and Nathalie looked at her. Adrien was about to tell her that everything was okay, but before the words passed his lips, his eyes lit up. A big smile splayed on his face and he placed his hands on Marinette's shoulders, causing her more confusion. Without giving her any answer, he turned his head towards Nathalie. 

"Marinette could do it!" He said as if he had just discovered all the truths to the world. Nathalie blinked, sparing Marinette a glance before directing her attention back to Adrien. 

"Come again?" She looked confused, just as much as Marinette. 

"Marinette, she won that bowler hat competition back in middle school, remember? She's really talented. She’s won a bunch of other competitions too. I'm sure she could help us." He explained all too quickly, not even considering that Nathalie might not remember a competition from so long ago. It was something that he could never forget—one, because one of his friends was so talented and two, it was hard to impress his father let alone get praise from him, which she did. 

Nathalie focused on Marinette with her usual stoic expression and the girl shrunk under the scrutinizing gaze. She studied the girl who just stood apprehensively, clutching her sketchbook tightly against her chest. 

"Yes, I remember. Your father was very impressed with her design." Nathalie said, adjusting her glasses. "But that being said, you haven't even asked your friend if she'd be willing to help before offering her services." She said with an almost amused lilt in her tone, something very un-Nathalie-ish. 

"Oh..." Adrien started, realizing what she said was true. He hadn't considered that Marinette might be busy or that she just didn't want to help. "Marinette," he squeezed her shoulders lightly. "Could you please help us?" He pleaded. 

How could she no to those eyes? Those eyes held more power over her than he knew and they easily put Manon's puppy eyes to shame. 

"Um... I would be glad to, if I knew exactly what you needed help with?" She said in more of a question than a statement. 

Adrien smiled sheepishly at her confusion. He didn't mean to be so vague but the idea just suddenly came to him that he didn't make himself clear from the beginning. He looked over to Nathalie and prompted her for an explanation. 

"Come along," Nathalie said simply and led them over to the tent. Marinette hesitated before entering. Never in her dreams did she ever think that she'd be helping out with something related to Gabriel's designs. When she felt Adrien's hand on the small of her back, ushering her in, she thought that she had surely died and gone to heaven. 

Nathalie went ahead and talked to some of the others in the tent, telling them to hand her the piece that needed to be looked at. When she returned, Marinette saw her carrying a black blazer, still on the hanger. At first sight, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Nathalie handed Adrien the blazer and he put it on for Marinette to see. 

"As you can see, there's a problem with how this fits." Nathalie said, side-eyeing Marinette. She peered at it and began to circle Adrien, taking in every little detail. She raised a hand to her chin and pondered, eyebrows furrowing in thought. Adrien inwardly laughed at her cute expression. 

The blazer looked like a fine piece when it was on the hanger but it didn't do Adrien any justice. He had a tall and slender figure, well suited for slim fit clothing. The cut of the blazer just didn’t fit his shape well. She was mildly curious as to why they didn't have the blazer properly fitted before sending it off to a shoot. 

"We're lucky that the shoulders and sleeves fit properly." Marinette began. There was nothing worse than trying to alter a jacket that was too large in said area. The armscye would have been cut too largely and there wouldn't be enough fabric to allow for drastic changes. "It looks like it just needs to be taken in a bit around the chest and waist." She hummed as she began pinching the fabric of the blazer to gauge how much it needed to be taken in. 

Adrien felt a little nervous as Marinette ran her hands along his torso, pulling and tugging at the jacket. She was so close that he could smell her. Living in a bakery, she always smelled of some sort of sweetness. But his favorite scent on her was vanilla. And that was what she currently smelled like—warm, soothing, vanilla. 

"So do you think you can fix it?" Adrien swallowed, hoping to get any semblance of moisture back into his throat. 

"I can. I just have to separate the lining from the shell to take it in and adjust all the darts." Her eyes flickered over to Nathalie and gave her a reserved smile. "I'm sorry, but could I have some pins?" 

"Yes, right away." Nathalie nodded and went to retrieve what the budding designer needed. 

"Thanks a lot, Marinette. You're a blessing." Adrien chuckled. 

"Not at all. To be allowed to work on a Gabriel design is a dream." She replied bashfully. 

Nathalie returned with the pins and Marinette began right away. She pinned the jacket quickly and efficiently so that he could continue modeling the other pieces as soon as possible. He stripped the blazer off and she took it from him, following Nathalie to where she could work. 

Marinette sat down and immediately went into work mode. She picked up the seam ripper and began to carefully take the jacket apart. She knew she had to work quickly because Adrien had a full schedule that day. 

Knowing that it was one of Gabriel's designs that she was currently altering, she painstakingly made sure that everything she did was nothing short of perfect. It was a delicate balance of speed and precision that required all of her attention. She didn't even notice the several times Adrien came in to change. 

Nathalie was grateful that Marinette was able to finish quickly. Marinette sighed in relief, feeling the pressure dissipate when Nathalie took the blazer from her. The woman thanked her graciously. Marinette could feel every pair of eyes in the tent on her and she smiled shyly. She nodded to Nathalie and thanked her instead, for giving her an opportunity for such a rare experience. 

When Marinette left the tent, it seemed that the sky was heavier with clouds than ever. The air had warmed up some as the day passed but there was still a chill as the clouds refused to let the sun shine through. The photographer was shouting out orders at his assistants and they scrambled about to finish the shoot before the rain came. 

Nathalie gave the blazer to Adrien and he quickly slid it on his arms and over his shoulders. Marinette felt pride bubbling up in her chest when saw that it was now a perfect fit. Adrien gave her a thumbs up and grinned cheekily, making her own lips stretch into a smile. The jacket was the last piece and the shoot would be complete. 

They had enough luck that the rain waited until they were finished packing before coming down mercilessly. Not even a minute passed before it started pelting heavily against her body. She didn't have time to regret not bringing an umbrella when Adrien grabbed her hand and pulled her along, running to the safety of the car. 

The Gorilla peered into the rearview mirror to see two teens flying into the car. He raised an eyebrow at their soaked and laughing appearances. The girl was one he recognized as one of Adrien's friends. She was a nice and cute little thing. 

Marinette let out a breath, finishing up her giggles as she brushed a wet lock of hair out of her face. She shifted her gaze over to the dripping wet Adrien and watched as he ran his hair through his golden mane. Her eyes followed a water droplet sliding down his face and she felt her whole body warm up. He looked so incredibly attractive at the moment that she suddenly became nervous and frazzled. The interior of the car felt like it was closing in on her. Her breath hitched in her throat when his eyes met hers. Before he could speak, the window on his side opened and a frowning Nathalie looked in. 

"I had an umbrella ready for you, Adrien. But you took off without it." She looked at his wet appearance with a look of disapproval. He smiled guiltily. 

"I'm sorry, Nathalie. I wasn't thinking. Marinette was getting wet so I just rushed her to the car." He explained. Her eyes flickered over to Marinette, as if she just realized that the girl was there. She just sighed and entered the front passenger seat, carefully closing the umbrella and the door to minimize the amount of rain coming in. 

"What's your address? We’ll escort you home." Nathalie spoke plainly. There wasn't any hint of annoyance behind her voice but Marinette couldn't help but feel like she was being a bother. 

"Oh, no, it's okay! The metro station is close by and you have a schedule—there's no need—" She stopped short of completing her sentence when not only Adrien and Nathalie but also the Gorilla cocked an eyebrow at her. 

“Take us to Tom & Sabine’s Bakery." Adrien told his driver and the large man nodded before pulling out into the street. 

Marinette was all well and good with talking to Adrien now, but adding Nathalie and Gorilla into the equation made her stall in nervousness. They were both straight to the point people, having little words except when necessary. She wasn’t sure if Adrien sensed her discomfort but he began speaking and she almost erupted into a sigh of relief. 

Adrien picked a safe topic, asking Marinette about her designs and if she was entering any competitions. She was thankful for it, words easily flowing out about her passion. Being the gentleman that he was, he followed the conversation even though she was sure that it couldn't be interesting for him. 

After an almost twenty-minute drive, Gorilla pulled over in front of the bakery and Marinette thanked her three companions profusely. Gorilla just gave her a nod of the head and Nathalie said a simple 'you're welcome.' Before she opened the door to leave though, Adrien placed a hand on her arm. 

"Hold on." Adrien leaned forward and asked Nathalie for an umbrella. "I'll walk you." Giving Marinette no time to protest, he opened his door and pushed the umbrella open. Climbing out, he then turned around and held a hand out to her. She shyly took it and scooted out. The two walked the short distance to the bakery door. Before going in, she turned to him. 

"Thanks again for the ride and for walking me. You're such a gentleman." She said mirthfully, laughter ready to slip through her lips. 

"Of course. I cannot have my kind lady brave through such weather unprotected." Adrien grinned and bowed dramatically in response to her comment. She brought a hand to her lips and stifled a laugh. It always reminded her of Chat Noir whenever he acted like that and the thought of her feline partner's silly antics made her roll her eyes.a

"Surely, I cannot let you go without a reward, kind sir." Marinette straightened herself and stood tall, like a regal lady, much to his amusement. A few seconds passed before they both started laughing merrily. "Would you like anything from the bakery? On the house of course." 

"As much as I'd love to..." Adrien started before his eyes darted over to the car. "Nathalie has me on a strict diet. The cooks at home keep all my extra orders a secret but it’ll be hard to hide anything right now." He chuckled, albeit dejectedly. Ah, the life of a model. Marinette frowned. She would have to sneak him some pastries on Monday, she thought resolutely. Adrien shot her a serene smile. "Well, I should get going before I'm late."

Marinette nodded and opened the door, taking a step inside. Adrien turned to leave but her voice called out for him to wait. 

Marinette felt her heart pound as she stepped towards him, mind reeling at what she was about to do. Every part of her brain was screaming at her to stop, abort the mission, but her body clearly had a mind of its own. Adrien turned back towards her in question when he felt her soft lips on his cheek. His eyes blew wide open at the action. Sure, cheek kisses were a common greeting, but from Marinette, not so much.

"Your reward, kind sir." Marinette whispered, her warm breath tickling his skin before she pulled back. A rosy blush fell upon her cheeks as she smiled at him. "See you Monday." She grinned and entered the bakery. 

Adrien stared at the door for a few extra seconds before turning around and raising a hand to the spot where Marinette's warmth still lingered. Neither Nathalie nor Gorilla made any mention of his reddened cheeks as he entered the car. 


	3. Son Sourire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien is smitten. Gabriel wants to meet Marinette.

Nathalie knew Adrien was fond of his raven-haired friend. She was a nice girl, someone who could keep him from sulking in the pit of loneliness that his father often left him in. She recalled Adrien's words to her the day before, asking if she remembered Marinette.

Of course, she did. Because she had stolen the birthday gift for Adrien from her and said it was from his father. Nathalie saw how much he adored the scarf and considering that he came home still thinking that it was from his father, Nathalie knew that the girl didn't tell him the truth. From then on, Nathalie felt guilt-ridden whenever she saw the girl. 

Marinette was polite with her. Even though Nathalie was sure that the girl knew she was the one responsible for the gift theft, she didn’t seem to bear any ill-will or resentment. Perhaps, Nathalie surmised, Marinette was content with Adrien being happy. It had only made her feel all the more terrible. So she found herself becoming more lenient with Adrien when Marinette was involved. 

Nathalie stood there, watching Gabriel's expressionless face as he went through the photos from the shoot at the Trocadero. She had just received the files that morning from the photographer and Gabriel wished to see them immediately. He monotonously listed off the file numbers of the ones he wanted to use and she jotted them down on her tablet. She was startled when she heard an uncharacteristically curious hum and she looked up from her device to see an eyebrow quirked at his monitor. 

"What is this?" Gabriel asked, eyes not leaving the screen. She quickly went through the photos to see what could be so astounding to him when her eyes landed on the photos of Adrien and Marinette. She mentally cursed to herself. She was meaning to remove them and send them to Adrien but it slipped her mind. His eyes finally rested on her and she stiffened. 

"A friend of Adrien's happened to be there and the photographer took some liberties... Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sir. She won that bowler hat—"

"Yes, I remember." He cut her off. His eyes returned to the photos and a slight frown made its way onto his face. Nathalie panicked, hoping that Gabriel wouldn't try to sabotage one of Adrien's great friendships. 

"She was a great help, sir!" The words tumbled off her tongue and his gaze rested on her again. She shrunk under his stare and knew she had to clarify. "The Lyon blazer had been wrongly sized and was too loose on Adrien. Stephen was called in to fix it but he didn't show. Marinette was the one who altered it for us." She explained. 

"You let a child alter my designs?" Gabriel asked bitingly, despite still having a stoic expression on his face. Nathalie flinched under his tone and apologized. "Bring me the blazer." He ordered. 

Nathalie made haste, fulfilling his orders quickly in hopes that his mood wouldn't worsen. She returned shortly with the blazer and handed it to him. She watched his eyes roam around the blazer as he studied the seams and stitching. If she didn't know better, she would say that he actually looked a little impressed. He placed the blazer aside and brought his attention back to his computer screen. 

"Contact the Dupain-Chengs for permission to use these photos," Gabriel ordered, much to her surprise. In her shock, she didn't realize that she didn't reply until his eyes flickered over to her. 

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir. Is there anything else?" She asked. 

"That is all. You are dismissed." He said. Nathalie bowed and left his office with a relieved sigh. 

-

Adrien was surprised when he heard his father. They normally didn't interact in the mornings. Nathalie and Gorilla were waiting for him outside and he was about to leave when he noticed his shoe was untied. He crouched down to tie it and that's when his father appeared. 

"You're heading out early," Gabriel noted. School started at 8:30 and it was currently only 7:45. Adrien just nodded silently. He was hoping, with any luck, Marinette would be there early and they could hang out. She had been getting a lot better at making it to class on time. "I went through the Trocadero shoot. The photos were excellent." Adrien continued to nod along, pulling his laces tightly so they wouldn't come undone again. His mind was so fogged up with thoughts of Marinette and the kiss she gave him that he didn't even realize that his father had actually paid him a compliment (well, technically he complimented the photos). "It would be good if you continued doing that well." 

"Yes, Father," Adrien replied as he stood up and proceeded to the door. "You should introduce her to me, this Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

"Sure thing, Father." Came his reply before he walked out of the front door. But the second his foot hit the pavement outside of the mansion, the realization hit him. He spun around and rushed back into the mansion, face a deep shade of crimson. "W-wait, Father!" Gabriel looked almost amused at his son's startled, wide-eyed expression.

"H-how—What made you bring her up?" Adrien fumbled on his words, unsure of what question he should even be asking. He didn't recall talking about Marinette at all so why did his father mention her? His face seared as he wondered if maybe he had spoken his thoughts about her out loud. 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his son's loss of composure. More often than not, Adrien was calm and collected when it came to any mention of a girl. It was interesting to see the embarrassment on Adrien’s face. He supposed his son was at that age. 

"She was at the Trocadero shoot was she not? Nathalie informed me that she assisted with the alterations on the Lyon blazer."

"She did..." Adrien said cautiously, unsure of how his father felt about Marinette altering the jacket. "But..." Before he could say anymore, Gabriel spoke up again. 

"I assume she's the reason why you're leaving for school at this time. I would like to meet her." 

-

Adrien felt dread as he sat in the car, on the way to school. Why did his father want to meet Marinette? Was he angry about her touching his designs? Was he going to yell at her? Was he going to demand that she stay away from him? Just the thought of his father trying to take away one of his good friends made his stomach sink with a heavy, foreboding feeling. 

But Gabriel didn't seem displeased at all. His father was a rather inexpressive man but Adrien could usually tell when he was upset with something. He could even daresay that the man looked minutely interested. It finally dawned upon Adrien right as he reached the school. His father thought that he was interested in Marinette. 

Adrien would be telling a bold-faced lie if he said that he wasn't. Sure, his heart still belonged to the elusive Ladybug, but ever since Marinette gave him a taste of her affectionate side two days ago, he had been unable to get her out of his mind.

Adrien entered the classroom to find it empty. There was still twenty minutes before class started. He was a little relieved Marinette wasn't there. He originally wanted to come early to see her but now that his father's request weighed on his mind, he felt nervous. 

How would he even go about planning such a visit? What would he tell Marinette? Because telling her that his father wanted to meet her because he suspected that there was something going on between them sounded oh so spectacular. He could just invite her over as a friend but even that thought filled him with anxiety. 

Adrien was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone coming to sit next to him. His elbows were propped on the desk and he rested his forehead on his palms, fingers tangling in his hair. He stared intently at the desk below him and let out a sigh. 

"Sounds like you have a lot of your plate." 

Adrien jolted from the voice and whipped his head to his left to see Marinette sitting there with a surprised look on her face. 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Marinette smiled guiltily as she placed her bag down. Before he got a word in, she spoke again. "Oh! I almost forgot." 

Marinette leaned over and rummaged in her school bag before pulling out a small box with the Tom & Sabine bakery logo on it. She placed it on the desk and slid it over to him with a grin on her face. He turned away from her and stared down at the box in front of him before bringing his attention back to her. 

"What's this?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. There wasn't a special occasion that he was forgetting about was there?

"Your reward, kind sir." Marinette let out a quiet chuckle. 

Adrien opened the box to find an assortment of macarons and his stomach fluttered with excitement. Adrien looked at her with a thankful smile. She knew he had a sweet tooth and must have felt badly for him after what he said about his diet. It was sweet of her to keep him in her thoughts. He felt a tingling warmth in his chest and immediately tried to extinguish it. But he couldn't stop the grin forming on his own face. 

"Oh? I thought I had already received a reward." Adrien teased as he pointed at his cheek. A blush blossomed across her cheeks and she turned her attention forward. 

"I—that—" Her mouth flapped uselessly, earning a chuckle from him. "A goodbye kiss can hardly be called a reward. It was just a substitute until I could sneak you some goodies." 

Adrien hummed in amusement before popping a macaron in his mouth. 

"I was satisfied with it, but if you're going to send more sweets my way, I won't complain. Guess I'll be in for a _treat_ if this is how your rewards system works." He winked at her and grinned. A slight frown made its way onto her face at his most half-assed attempt at a pun as of yet. 

"You're lucky you're pretty." She said dryly and his laughter followed. He caught sight of her rolling her eyes before pulling out her sketchbook to draw. 

It was friendly bantering like that that made Adrien like Marinette so much. It felt almost as if he was Chat Noir and she was Ladybug. For some reason, with her, he felt like he could relax a little more, act a little more wild like his alter-ego. She had no idea how thankful he was that she was now talking to him normally. He didn't realize how much of a great friend she would be. 

When lunchtime rolled around, Alya and Nino decided to have lunch together, much to Marinette and Adrien's chagrin. Neither of them could remember the last time they had a decent hang out with their respective best friend. They walked out of the school together and squinted from the brightness of the sun. The sky finally cleared up but puddles still littered the ground around them from yesterday's storm. They walked towards his ride and he was surprised to see Nathalie in the car. Normally Gorilla was the only one present when retrieving him for lunch. 

"Nathalie, is there something scheduled that I forgot about?" He questioned. Maybe he had a photo shoot that he skipped over on his schedule. But the woman just shook her head. 

"No, nothing of that sort. I had some business to take care of." She said and her eyes briefly flickered over to Marinette. It didn't go unnoticed by the girl and she stood ramrod straight at the sudden moment of attention. 

Marinette shrunk back as Adrien and Nathalie continued to talk and noticed some kids shouting playfully in the distance. She couldn't help but smile at how happy they sounded. As their figures came closer, she noticed that they were riding bikes, clearly racing each other. Her eyes suddenly shot down to the large puddle that rested behind her and Adrien and widened as they flew back up to the kids. 

"Adrien—!" The urgency in Marinette's voice had him quickly turning to her but not before she had yanked him in front of her by his arm. He watched as three boys sped by on their bikes, a sloshing sound heard as all three rode straight through the puddle and splashed the murky water all over Marinette. Her grip on his arm tightened as she grimaced from the uncomfortable feeling of the warm water seeping through her clothes. 

"Marinette! Are you okay? Goodness, you're soaked. Why did you do that? You should have just jumped out of the way." He glowered at her, clearly upset that she had decided to save him from the splash instead of thinking about herself. But she just gave him a beguiling smile. 

"Dear, dear Adrien. What would you have left if your good looks were ruined by mud?" She joked, knowing it would erase the frown from his face. The way her eyes crinkled and lips curled into a smile as she looked up at him made him unable to stay mad. 

"You wound me." Adrien gasped and placed a hand against his heart. Marinette's laughter rang out and his heart skipped a beat as he gazed at her gleeful expression. He raised an arm and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He realized that he was suddenly presented with a great opportunity to invite her over. "Come have lunch with me. It's my fault that you're soaked, yet again." He sighed. "You can get cleaned up at my place." A look of reservation passed her face and he knew rejection was on the tip of her tongue. He mustered the most pleading, round kitty eyes that he could and jutted out his lower lip slightly. 

Marinette's mouth fell open slightly at the absolutely adorable expression on his face and knew that she couldn't say no. She cursed her pushover nature and frowned at him. A sigh passed her lips and from the grin that was making its way onto his face, he knew he had won. 

"You and Manon must be learning from each other," Marinette mumbled and Adrien just chuckled. He turned his attention back to Nathalie and asked if it was okay if Marinette had lunch with him. She nodded in agreement.

When they entered the Agreste mansion, Nathalie suggested they wait in Adrien's room while the chef prepared another serving for Marinette. The girl blushed heavily at the idea of being in his room with just him. Despite having such a decked-out room, he rarely had visitors. She, along with Alya and Nino knew he was uncomfortable with getting his father's permission. The question of whether his father was home or not fleetingly crossed her mind. Adrien wouldn't sneak her in, would he? He did get Nathalie's permission at least. 

Marinette stiffly followed him into his room and Adrien mistakenly took her nervous walking as discomfort from her wet clothing. He apologized again and she reminded him that it was of her own doing that she got wet. But he would have none of it. She rolled her eyes at his stubbornness. He strode over to his dresser and rummaged through his drawers before pulling out the smallest t-shirt and sweatpants he owned before handing it to her. 

"Sorry, I don't have anything else for you." Adrien smiled sheepishly and waved over to the bathroom. "The shower is over there. We'll have your clothes laundered while we eat lunch. She clutched the clothes to her chest and nodded. 

Marinette fought hard against the blush that threatened to flourish across her face as she mechanically walked over to the bathroom. She was going to be using his shower. The shower that he used. The shower that he used while _naked_. Her face exploded into a crimson flush and she hurriedly closed the door behind her lest she do something embarrassing.

Adrien sat down at his desk and Plagg came fluttering out of his shirt with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

"Ooh la la. Finally getting somewhere with this lady friend of yours? What happened to Ladybug?" 

Adrien blushed at his kwami's heckling and waved the black cat away. Plagg simply dodged his charge's hand and snickered before darting towards his usual spot of cheesy heaven. Adrien gagged in disgust and rolled over to his drawer to pull out another pack of air freshener. He wasn't going to get anywhere with anyone if he was constantly surrounded by the funk of cheese. He balked at the thought, face flushed a bright red. Not that he was trying to get anywhere with anyone, especially the pretty girl that was currently showering in his bathroom. He dropped his head on his desk and bit back a scream of sheer mortification. Marinette was his friend—a _dear_ friend. He would fling himself off of the Eiffel Tower before he’d let himself think of her in any obscene manner. He banged his head repeatedly on the desk in an attempt to clear his mind. 

"Adrien?" Marinette's concerned voice pulled him out of his internal battle and he quickly sat up. How long had he been arguing with himself? He hadn’t even noticed the sound of the shower turning off. It didn’t matter. He was just pleased that he'd be rid of any thoughts of Marinette showering. He turned to her only to be bombarded by the sight of her in his clothes. His cheeks burned as his eyes wandered over her figure that was drowned in the excess fabric. There was just something so appealing about seeing a girl in your clothes. "They're pretty big on me." She laughed shyly. 

"Y-yeah... I'll have someone clean your clothes immediately." He could almost hear Plagg's cackling. Since when did he get this nervous around Marinette?

Thankfully, a knock came at his door and he let out a sigh of relief. Nathalie had come to tell them lunch was ready. She wore a rather surprised look when she took in Marinette's appearance before mentioning that she'd send someone up to take care of her clothes. 

When they descended the stairs, they found Gabriel leaving his office. His eyes landed on them and he gazed momentarily at his son before directing his eyes towards Marinette. Adrien immediately tensed up when the hint of a frown was slowly forming on his father's face. 

"Father! This isn't what it looks like. Marinette got covered with rainwater because of me and I invited her over for lunch as an apology—" Adrien nervously rambled and Marinette looked just as scared as he did in front of the older Agreste. Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his son's behavior. 

"I am aware. Nathalie has told me." Gabriel's voice, although not loud, managed to drown out Adrien's frantic explanation. He turned his attention back to Marinette. "Welcome, Mademoiselle Marinette. I apologize that my son has caused you much trouble."

"N-not at all, Monsieur Agreste. Thank you for having me." She bowed her head slightly in respect.

"Adrien, somehow you thought that was appropriate wear for this young lady?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow at his son and spoke with a hint of scolding in his voice. Before Adrien could reply, Gabriel began ascending the stairs. "Wait right here." 

The air had been so heavy that even after Gabriel left, both Adrien and Marinette stood there stiffly in silence. Despite the cool interior of the mansion, Adrien could feel the sweat rolling down his back. He spared a quick glance at Marinette to see that she was standing straight with lips pressed in a line and eyes wide in what he assumed was sheer terror. 

Gabriel returned shortly with a set of clothing in his hands and Adrien just stared at the blouse his father was holding, a lavender tunic with floral embroidery along the edge of the flared sleeves. It was one of his mother's favorite blouses. His eyes flickered up to Gabriel's face to see that it was relatively impassive as if he wasn't about to just hand Marinette some of his wife's clothing. 

"That's Mother’s..." Adrien started, earning a shocked looked from Marinette.

"I-I couldn't..." She held her hands up in reservation. "I really don't mind wearing this."

"I insist, Mademoiselle. It would tarnish the Agreste name to let you walk around in that." Gabriel said, voice still lacking any clear emotion. 

"But..."

"She wouldn't have minded." He added. It was then that Marinette could clearly see the hint of wistfulness in his eyes and she couldn't refuse. She took the clothes from the senior Agreste and thanked him. "Nathalie, escort her to a room to change." He said.

"Yes, sir." 

The two walked away, leaving the Agreste men behind. Gabriel folded his arms behind his back and kept his eyes trained on the stairs that the women just ascended. Adrien also kept his gaze ahead but his eyes periodically flickered over to his father. He never expected his father to do something like that. The man was usually withdrawn when it came to his missing wife. 

"I didn't expect you to bring her by today." Gabriel shattered the silence with his observation. Adrien could almost hear the amusement in his voice and he blushed. 

"I wasn't planning to," Adrien admitted. He only invited her because the opportunity arose. He hesitated before speaking again. "Why did you want to meet her?"

“She seemed like a nice young lady,” Gabriel answered Adrien’s question in a sort of vague way that made him raise an eyebrow at his father. But Gabriel did not offer any other reason.

“All of my friends are nice.” Adrien countered, in hopes of prying more information out of his father. He felt goosebumps rise across his skin when Gabriel’s eyes rolled over and looked at him. In the back of his mind, he mused that this was the most solid conversation he had with his father in a while. 

“Are you romantically interested in all of your other friends?” Gabriel quirked an eyebrow and questioned Adrien, earning a red-faced, sputtering teen in reply.

“W-what? No! Marinette's just a friend! I don’t—” He waved his arms around animatedly before Gabriel’s voice cut him off.

“She has your mother’s smile.” 

Adrien’s frenzy ceased immediately and he looked up to his father to see him gazing nostalgically at the portrait above the stairs, where there used to sit a portrait of all three of them. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen any emotion aside from anger or impassiveness on his father’s features. He bit his lip. Right. It was before his mother had disappeared.

Adrien had never seen his father revealing any sort of sorrow after the fact. It often made him wonder if the man even cared, even though he knew for a fact that he did. Gabriel’s grieving didn’t manifest through conventional means but that didn’t mean he didn’t mourn that his wife was gone. Adrien knew that because although his father didn’t show it on his face, he showed it through his behavior, becoming more strict and protective of his only son. That’s why Adrien could never bring himself to go against his father.

“Yeah… she does.”

…

Wait.

…

Since when was his father acquainted with Marinette’s smile?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reason #224 on why I'll never be a professional writer: Bold-faced or bald-faced? Or do we go older and use barefaced?


	4. Chaleur

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The warmth Adrien feels in his chest is definitely because of the hot chocolate and not because he's in love with his friend.

Chloé's hands shook furiously as she stared down at the magazine spread of Fashion Weekly. The pages of the magazine crinkled under the pressure of her grip and she marched across the courtyard towards the blonde model that had stood her up on her birthday.

"Adrien! What is the meaning of this?" Chloe screeched. Both Adrien and Nino winced from the sheer volume of her voice. Adrien sighed exasperatedly. He was finally hanging out with Nino after god knows how long.

"What's the meaning of what Chloe?" Adrien asked wearily as he turned to her. Her mouth was twisted into a scowl and her cheeks were red with anger. She shoved the magazine in his face and his eyes crossed slightly to look at it because it was so close. He felt his body go numb at the spread and pulled the magazine from her grasp.

Adrien stared wide-eyed at the two-page spread of him and Marinette dressed in a striking red, standing against the dreary background of the Trocadero. Big smiles were stretched across their faces and if he weren't so shocked, he would have been in awe of how perfect the photo was.

"What's up?" Nino asked as he stood up from his seat and peered over Adrien's shoulder. "Whoa! You modeled with Marinette?" Nino gaped at the photo. "Alya is gonna freak!"

"Adrien!" Chloe hissed, bringing his attention back to her. "You skipped my birthday party to hang out with  _ her _ ?" She stressed the last word as if the girl in question was so vile and ground her teeth. She glared at him hard—the intense iciness of her blue eyes would have made anyone else cower in fear.

"Chlo, I was working." Adrien sighed in annoyance, unfortunately too used to her tantrums. "Marinette happened to be at the Trocadero. I didn't even know this was taken." Not buying his excuse, she let out a humph before stomping off.

Adrien frowned at the photo. It wasn't that he didn't like it. He loved it. But he wasn't sure how Marinette was going to feel about being splashed across a fashion magazine for all of Paris to see. His father usually had to approve of the photos before they were printed so he didn't understand how...

Adrien paused. His father's comment on Marinette's smile had weighed on his mind the whole time they had lunch that day. He remembered her being scared stiff in the presence of his father and was quite sure that she couldn't muster a smile even if her life depended on it. So this was what his father was talking about.

Adrien studied the picture, paying close attention to the girl that smiled brightly despite the gloom that she stood in. She did indeed share his mother's smile. His stomach fluttered and warmth bloomed in his heart. He always appreciated the smiles that she wore from day to day. It was so different from the forced smiles that he often wore for work—so genuine. To see it permanently frozen in a photo had him completely enamored. He briefly wondered why he never thought of getting a picture of her—of all his friends, he quickly amended. But the affection that tingled across his body was soon replaced with worry. Did his father even get permission to use the photo?

Correction. Photos.

As he turned the page, there were several more pictures of them together, arranged in a collage. She was beautiful in each and everyone one of them. His cheeks warmed and he was conflicted between being in awe and in shock.

"So I take it that you didn't know about it either?"

Adrien was so absorbed in the magazine that he didn't even notice that Alya and Marinette had approached, coming back from having lunch at the bakery. He blinked at Alya's entertained expression and then looked over to Marinette. Her head was lowered slightly but he still managed to see the rosy blush across her cheeks. So it was safe to say that she didn't know about it.

“Judging from the expression on your face.” Alya clarified.

"No, I didn't." He frowned. "So I guess that means my father didn't get permission which is very much illegal." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Sorry, Marinette. I didn't expect something like this from him." Seeing the slightly angry expression on his face, Marinette quickly spoke up.

"No! No, it's okay." She waved her hands in front of her to dismiss his misplaced anger. "Your father did get permission. My parents just didn't tell me about it. They thought it'd be nice to surprise me with it." She explained. She sighed as she recalled what happened when she and Alya finished lunch.

Nathalie arrived at her home to give Tom and Sabine a copy of the issue and Marinette and Alya had come down to see Gabriel's assistant just leaving. She immediately questioned her parents about it, fearing something happened to Adrien. But the sneaky, grinning faces told her otherwise. Her mother handed her the magazine and told her to look inside for a surprise.

And surprised she was. After the initial shock, Marinette grew as red as the clothing that they wore in the image. The giggling that came from her parents put a pout on her face, which only made them laugh harder. Alya nudged her enthusiastically, demanding details of the day.

The school bell signaling the end of lunch chimed, pulling her out of her thoughts. The four friends started walking towards class and Alya skipped ahead and pulled Nino along, leaving Marinette and Adrien behind them.

"You don't mind?" Adrien's asked her with a mixture of surprise and relief. She just laughed. The blush was still evident on her cheeks.

"Not at all." Marinette smiled. "I mean... I regret not dolling myself up that day and I’m a little embarrassed that you're so much prettier than me, but I guess I can't expect to surpass the Adrien Agreste, can I?" The teasing note in her voice told him she was just pulling his leg but he could almost sense that she believed her self-deprecating comment.

"You're insane." He said.  _ You're beautiful. _ He wanted to add on but the words caught in his throat. He wondered if perhaps it would be too forward of him. It's normal to call your friend beautiful, isn't it? Marinette faced forward again but his eyes continued to linger on her profile. The rosy blush refused to leave her cheeks. Even though she said she didn't mind, he couldn't help but feel that she was at least a bit mortified by suddenly being used without her knowledge.

Marinette hummed and flicked her eyes over to see his brows knitted, obviously still troubled. She smiled appreciatively, seeing how much he was worried about her. She was used to the limelight, albeit as Ladybug. The one time as Marinette wasn't going to faze her. Rather than being concerned about being in the magazine, she was focused more on the fact that she was in the magazine next to Adrien. The photo was beautiful and she looked good in it, she had to admit. But somehow, she felt so little and insignificant standing next to an actual model.

"Really, don't worry about it. You're so positively sparkling in the photo that no one is even going to notice little ol' me in it." Marinette chuckled. Adrien's eyes met hers and she was surprised to see his frown grow deeper, a disapproving glint reflecting in his eyes.

"Stop it." Adrien's voice came out only slightly louder than a whisper and harsher than he wanted. It was all fine and good if she wanted to sing him praises but it rubbed him the wrong way to hear her downplaying herself to do so. Marinette was startled by his seriousness and shifted her eyes forward again, biting her lip in nervousness.

"Sorry..." Marinette mumbled, not even sure of what she was apologizing for. A deep sigh came from him and she felt a light grasp on her fingers, making her stop. Her eyes shot down at her hand before trailing up his arm and finally landing on his face.  


"Listen, the photos are amazing, not just because of me but because you're in it too." He said so sternly that she couldn't help but nod in agreement in fear of him getting more upset. "You're absolutely stunning." He added, forgetting his reservations earlier. "I just wish that Father had asked you for your permission, considering that you were actually over and he met with you."

Adoration bubbled in her chest at his concern over her. She offered him a placid smile and turned her hand to give his a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks for worrying about me, Adrien." Marinette said and released his hand. His eyes momentarily flickered down to their now separated hands, instantly feeling the lack of warmth. Before he could dwell on the swirl of emotions churning in his gut, she spoke again. "We should hurry to class before we're late."

Only an hour had passed into their afternoon class when Marinette got an alert on her phone from the Ladyblog. A member had posted an akuma sighting at the TV studio. Marinette groaned. She was sure that all of her classmates thought she had some crazy stomach issues with the frequency in which she asked to go to the bathroom. But to her luck (if you didn’t consider the akuma), the loud shuddering sound of harsh winds blew against the windows prompted all the students to scatter to the other side of the class in worry. She quickly used the chance to slip out of class.

Ladybug groaned when she found herself drenched from head to toe the moment she stepped outside of school. It had been a good two years since she dealt with Climatika and she didn't particularly care for another weather-related akuma. Her blue eyes zeroed in on the akumatized woman, who called herself Tempest, laughing in the sky. She sighed.

"You're glistening, My Lady. Quite literally."

Ladybug couldn't help but let out a groan when she heard her partner's voice beside her.

"I'm surprised to see you Chat. Don't you remember what happened last time you were out in the rain?" She turned around and smirked before noticing that he was holding an umbrella over his head. For some reason, the image of Chat hiding under an umbrella was positively hilarious to her and she burst out in laughter. "Perhaps you should leave this one up to me?" She cocked a brow and smiled smugly.

Despite her poking fun at him, Chat just returned her smile. He was always happy to hear her laughter even if it was at his expense.

"Nonsense." He grinned. "Shall I  _ rein _ her in for you?" His eyes crinkled in amusement and Ladybug rolled her eyes before smiling and nodding. She had to admit, that one was clever.

Chat dashed off ahead of her and she followed behind, strategically mapping out her plan. Two years of experience under their belts had made them more efficient at dealing with akuma. They were more in tune with each other, showcasing that they truly were two halves of a whole. That didn't mean that their job was easier though. Just as time helped them, it also helped Papillon. Either he sought out better candidates for his akuma, making them more driven and less likely to abandon their task of getting the miraculous or he was getting a lot better at controlling them.

The rain pelted down mercilessly on the city blurring the lines of the buildings that stood against it. Even through the sound of the heavy rain, Ladybug could hear the gusts of wind violently whisking around her. She was getting damn cold. She knew Tikki wouldn't hold up after prolonged exposure to rain and she worried even more over Chat's kwami. Even though it was quite some time ago, she recalled the time when Chat showed up to patrol a little under the weather. It was the day after they'd fought in the rain and if Chat was sick, that meant his kwami was probably worse off.

Ladybug gripped her yoyo tightly, jaw clenched in determination. She concentrated on the black blobs in the distance as Chat attempted to force the akuma from the air. Coming to his aid, she flung her yoyo towards the akuma and wound the string around her leg, pulling her from her place in the sky. But before she hit the building beneath her, she sent out a blast of wind to knock Ladybug back.

Ladybug yelped as she lost her footing and she quickly released her yoyo to wind around the nearest sturdy structure. The wind abruptly came to an end when Chat engaged the akuma once again. The rain distorted around them, from the razor-sharp blades of wind that she sent to Chat. He couldn't combat the intangible force so his only option was to dodge.

Ladybug was mildly annoyed and wished that she could just help Chat double team the villain. She wasn't nearly as confident in her physical strength as Chat though. After several close calls with her putting herself in danger and Chat having to cover for her, they had come to an agreement that she would play the role of tactician and avoid putting herself in direct harm. After all, she was needed to cleanse the akuma and reverse any damage.

She scanned the villain intently, trying to figure out where the akuma was hiding. Judging from the complaints and expletives tumbling from the woman's mouth, Ladybug concluded that she was a weather reporter that had just gotten fired. She was essentially a step up from Climatika. 

A sharp pain grazed against her cheek and she looked down to see pellets of ice around her feet. The rain was steadily changing to hail. Ladybug cursed and called for her lucky charm. Under different circumstances, she'd try to figure out what the possessed item was and come up with some sort of plan before using it. After all, she was only allotted five minutes afterward, before she would lose her transformation. But she had no interest in having her or Chat Noir out in the hailstorm any longer than that. Severe weather conditions were their weakness and the faster they get this over with, the less likely Papillon would figure it out.

A big bag of cement descended from the sky and Ladybug was momentarily overwhelmed by the sudden weight of it. She looked at the label and the corner of her lips quirked up.  _ ‘Dries so quickly, it's miraculous’ _ , she read in amusement. 

Ladybug swung closer to the action and landed on a nearby roof that was in Chat's line of sight. She waved at him, signaling him to get out of the way before she hurled the bag of cement at Tempest.

"Hey, Tempest!" Ladybug shouted, grabbing her attention. The ex-reporter turned around just in time to see the large bag coming towards her and sent out a blade of wind in defense. The bag burst open and a grey powder dispersed into the wet air.

A loud shriek erupted from Tempest's mouth as the cement settled over her form, clinging to her tightly. True to the description on the bag, the cement began drying instantly, making her body stiff and unmovable. Ladybug was almost relieved that most of the rain had turned to hail because she was sure the downpour would have washed the cement off too quickly to work. She swung her yoyo out and reeled Tempest in.

Chat Noir joined her and Ladybug took in the sight of his sopping wet form. He was grinning but she knew that he was cold and uncomfortable. She turned back to Tempest and scanned the woman for the possessed item. She crouched down and extracted the clicker that she had clenched in her left hand. She sighed in relief when an akuma came fluttering out after she snapped it.

Chat looked up to the clearing sky and sighed in contentment as he felt the moisture dissipate from his body. Though Ladybug's cure dried him, his body still felt frigid. He wasn't sure if his body temperature was actually low or if it was all in his head. 

“Wow, that was the most straight-forward Lucky Charm you’ve ever gotten.” He joked, a slight chattering of his teeth not unheard by Ladybug. She peered at him worriedly.

"You okay, Chat?" She asked, a frown etched on her lips. Chat shot her a clenched jaw smile in attempts to stop his teeth from chattering. He didn't want to worry her. Fortunately, she didn't press him any further and held her fist up. "Good job, kitten. It was all you today. Thanks." He bumped his fist against hers.

"I live for your praises, My Lady." He grinned. Ladybug let out an unladylike snort and rolled her eyes.

"Don't you have a girlfriend to spew those lines to?" Ladybug cocked an eyebrow. She would find it hard to believe if he didn't. The boy had a ridiculously hot bod and from what she could see of his face, he was handsome enough. She was sure he had a fair share of girls who'd be crushing on him due to his looks,  _ if not for his sense of humor _ . She inwardly laughed.

"I'd think after almost two years, you'd realize that you hold all my affections." Chat said mirthfully before taking hold of her hand and placing a kiss on her knuckles. Ladybug sighed and withdrew her hand before flicking his nose playfully. A beeping drew her attention away and she remembered she was on limited time.

"It'd do you well to place your affections elsewhere. I could be a middle-aged lady for all you know." She grinned before swinging off into the distance.

She was dismissive as usual. The grin fell from his face when his thoughts suddenly went to another girl that praised him earlier. He shook his head furiously, trying to banish all thoughts of his classmate. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed before heading back to the school. He could really use a nice cup of hot chocolate and he knew exactly who would have some.

As he correctly guessed, Marinette had a thermos full of hot chocolate. He learned from their first winter as friends that she wasn’t fond of cold weather. He recalled her coming to class ridiculously bundled up and she was always out of sorts. It wasn’t strange to see her and Alya cuddled up next to each other when class wasn’t in session. The cat in him always begged to snuggle up between the two girls. 

Even though it was spring, there was still a slight frigidness that hung around on some days. The four friends briefly met up with each other in between their classes and Marinette noticed that Adrien was shivering slightly. She didn’t hesitate to offer him her favorite drink and he gratefully accepted.

“Thank you. It got really cold because of that akuma and I guess it still hasn’t left my system.” Adrien explained and took a sip of the chocolaty goodness. The warmth settled in the pit of his stomach and he sighed in happiness and contentment, earning an amused look from his friends. He was confident that Marinette made the best hot chocolate.

Marinette agreed with him. She was also still feeling cold and she hoped that the thin scarf she stuffed in her purse was helping with keeping Tikki warm. The ever so slight vibration against her hip let her know that Tikki was still shivering.

“You two should just move to a tropical island somewhere.” Alya raised a brow at the both of them. “The temperature here is just fine.” 

“Don’t be so  _ cold, _ Alya.” Marinette stuck her tongue out at Alya and she earned a slight shove from the latter. Adrien stopped mid drink and blinked at Marinette’s pun. Before he could comment on it, Marinette spoke again. “We should hurry. Class is about to start.” 

“Yeah. See you later.” Alya and Nino waved before heading to their own classes. Marinette turned her attention to Adrien to see him screwing the top back onto the thermos.

“Keep it. Looks like you need it.” She giggled. He didn’t know why but his cheeked flooded with heat. He recalled Ladybug’s words and inwardly screamed.

He was in love with Ladybug, not Marinette. Marinette was his friend. He ran those thoughts repeatedly through his mind, as if it would make it more true. But the way Marinette gazed at him with utmost affection made him question everything in his life.

“Take care of yourself and try not to get sick.” Marinette said with a smile before waving and heading off to her class.

That was when he wondered, why couldn’t he have feelings for Marinette? Would it be so bad to fall in love with her? As if his brain suddenly declared war against his heart, it screamed out a big fat ‘yes!’ His brain clearly reminded him that it was wrong to pine over  _ two _ girls. But his heart whole-heartedly protested. No matter how much he wanted to believe that he only saw Marinette as a friend, nothing could quell the warmth he felt when he thought of her.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unmovable? Immovable? Why do you do this to me, English???


	5. Fièvre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien has a revelation and it certainly isn't due to his fever. Unknown to him, Marinette has one too.

Nino frowned when he read the text message that appeared on his phone just as he pulled it out to text Adrien. He didn’t think anything of it when he reached the school first. While Adrien had been getting better at making it to school on time, there were still occasions where the blonde didn’t turn up, probably due to a photoshoot. Nino just assumed this was one of those times. But clearly, it wasn’t.

His phone chimed and he looked at it to see a message from Adrien.

**Adrien: Sick. Won't be in today.**

Adrien wasn't usually one to get sick. Nino couldn't even recall the last time his best friend was unwell. He'd known Adrien to have an insane amount of stamina and a formidable constitution. Despite the sheer amount of photoshoots along with extracurricular activities that he had, he was rarely out of sorts. It probably had to do with the extra healthy food he was fed, as well as the fencing that provided him with exercise. 

So when Nino reread the text, he couldn't help but worry. He saw Alya approaching him, stifling a yawn. He readily passed the strange news to her.

"Perfect model, Adrien Agreste is sick? How is that possible?" She raised an eyebrow and Nino just shrugged. 

"Beats me. He seemed fine yesterday." Nino said as he typed a reply to Adrien. Suddenly his head snapped up. "He did say he was cold yesterday from the akuma attack."

"That's true." Alya frowned. "Marinette won't be happy about this."

"I won't be happy about what?" Marinette appeared from behind Alya and startled the couple, both of them yelping in surprise. They relayed the news to her and watched as her lips fell into a frown, brows knitting together and eyes flooding with worry. 

Marinette recalled that he was unusually cold yesterday, shivering slightly when they met up after the akuma attack. It was strange when she thought about it. She was usually the one out of the four that had issues with the cold. 

As she made her way to class, she pulled out her phone and contemplated whether or not she should send him a message. She didn't want to bother him if he was resting. But she was itching with curiosity and concern. Did he have a cold? Was it something more serious that he couldn't make it to school? What if he was at the hospital? What if he had pneumonia? She had heard many cases of pneumonia being deadly! She huffed as she sat down, mind racing. She gripped her phone and quickly typed in a message. She didn't hesitate to hit the 'send' button. Right now, she was more concerned about making sure he was alive. 

**Marinette: Nino told me that you're sick. Are you okay?**

She breathed a sigh of relief when a reply came almost instantaneously. 

**Adrien: Just a cold and a bit of a fever. It should be over it soon enough.**

Her worry dissipated some hearing that it was just a cold. 

**Marinette: I guess that hot chocolate didn't help :(**

**Adrien: I'm sure I would be dead now if it weren't for your magical hot chocolate.**

Marinette let out a slight snort at his exaggeration. She had to admit, she had never pegged Adrien as one to have a flair for the dramatic. But as she got to know him better, she realized that the boy liked to put on a show.

**Marinette: Ok Agreste. You seem well enough to be making jokes. I guess I don't need to worry about you.** She typed in reply. Her phone chimed immediately.

**Adrien: *** **_gasp_ ** *** how cold!**

**Marinette: :p ok, class is starting. Get some rest!**

**Adrien: Have fun**

Truth be told, Marinette was still worried. Adrien had a habit of downplaying his problems. She knew that his sickness had to be bad enough that he couldn't come to school. His home situation wasn’t the greatest and school was where he went to be less lonely—to be himself. He wouldn’t miss it if he could help it. She sighed, hoping for the next few hours to pass quickly so that she could check up on him. He could probably use the company and she was sure Nino and Alya would like to see how he’s doing too. 

-

Adrien felt terrible. His body was burning up and every time he threw his blanket off in hopes of relief, his body was assaulted with a chill that made him want to snuggle underneath the covers again. His mind was muddled and his head hammered incessantly as if Guitar Villain had made a return and used his solo on him repeatedly. His nose was stuffed, making him breathe through his mouth, irritating his sore throat even further.

Being out in the cold weather was unpleasant but it shouldn’t have made him sick. After all, you needed to get the virus to actually get a cold. He frowned in frustration when he remembered that Kim was sick just a couple of days ago. It was likely that he had already caught it and the mild case of hypothermia he had yesterday weakened his immune system enough for it to wreak havoc on his body. He shoved his face into his pillow and whined pathetically.

He missed his friends. It didn't make sense since he saw them just yesterday. There were times he couldn't see them for days because of his modeling job. He dealt with it just fine then, coping by messaging in the group chat that his friends aptly named ‘Project Keep Adrien Company’. He smiled at the thought. He’d never been more grateful to have such an amazing group of friends and the more he thought about them, the more sorely he missed them. He’d never felt so small and vulnerable since his mother disappeared.

His mother—another presence that he missed. Every time he had gotten sick as a child, his mother would always be by his side to nurse him better. She'd make him her god-awful soup, which he'd struggle with eating, and then she'd sing him lullabies to help him rest. It was strange how her hand always felt warm when he was cold and cool when he was burning up. 

Much like the coolness that he felt on his forehead right now. 

"Maman...?" Adrien mumbled deliriously and he whimpered when the hand retracted momentarily. He sighed contentedly when the hand returned. 

"I'm sorry, it's just me." 

His eyes immediately shot open when the voice he heard clearly didn't belong to his mother. He focused on the figure hovering above him. His cheeks flushed when the familiar shape of his raven-haired friend came into view. 

"M-Marinette..." He couldn't even muster the energy to sound surprised. Marinette watched him worriedly, a deep frown etched across her face. His complexion was pale and his forehead glistened with sweat. She hoped that what he had was merely a cold and not something worse. His skin was too hot and it had her concerned. Fevers during a cold were usually mild, if you got one at all.

"Alya and Nino are here too. How are you feeling?" Marinette asked softly as she swept his hair out of his face. The gesture was so comforting that he just wanted to go back to sleep. 

"Better now that you're here." He mumbled before drifting off again. Marinette couldn't help but blush even though she was sure that he meant all of them. She could hear Alya chuckling behind her and whispering to Nino. 

"Maybe we shouldn't have come." 

"Alya!" Marinette said sharply, albeit in a low voice. The redhead just smiled slyly. "You guys keep him company. I'm going to see if I can borrow the kitchen." 

Nino and Alya nodded before Marinette left the room. Alya pulled his computer chair next to the bed and sat down, peering at him intently. 

"Poor guy. I guess all the work and stress has finally caught up with him." She murmured as she leaned forward to brush away the bangs that fell in his face again. 

"Yeah. It sucks. But it's what he's chosen to do. He doesn't like it but it makes his old man happy. At least that's what he thinks." Nino frowned. He'd be lying if he said he didn't hate Gabriel Agreste. The man was cold and controlling and he felt Adrien deserved so much more. But it wasn't his place to judge how the father and son went about their relationship. 

Seeing Nino's dejected expression, Alya turned in the chair and reached out for his hand. She gave it a reassuring squeeze and smiled. Nino was so incredibly selfless when it came to his friends and she adored that aspect of her boyfriend. Actually, that was a quality that the three of her friends had that made her love them so much. She admittedly wasn’t as close to Adrien as Nino and Marinette but she still considered him dear to her.

"That's why we're here for him." She said.

"You're right." Nino squeezed back and smiled. 

-

When Marinette exited the kitchen to head back to Adrien's room, she had the pleasure of running into Gabriel. He looked mildly surprised to see her despite knowing that she and two others were visiting his son. She recalled Adrien telling her that his father was rarely home. Yet somehow, she’d managed to encounter him every time she was there.

“Bonjour, Marinette.” He nodded towards her.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Agreste." She said. "I hope you don't mind that I used your kitchen. Nathalie said it was okay." 

Gabriel didn't say anything and just eyed the tray in her hands. 

"Um... My mother often makes me soup when I'm sick so I thought Adrien would like some." She blubbered, intimidated by the man's stare. She turned her attention down to the bowl on the tray. "It's nothing unhealthy. It's just a simple chicken and vegetable soup to keep him hydrated. Oh, but I loaded it with ginger so he might not like it." She continued rambling, praying that he'd acknowledge her somehow so that she could stop making a fool of herself. 

Marinette almost had a heart attack when she heard a chuckle. At least that's what she thought she heard because when she looked at Gabriel, his face was just as stoic as ever. 

"I'm confident he will enjoy any kind of soup you make. His mother used to make him soup when he became ill, though I have to admit that her cooking skills were abominable." Gabriel explained. Marinette giggled and then suddenly stopped and stared wide-eyed at him. 

"Oh, I wasn't laughing at your wife or anything, I just—" she pressed her lips together and hung her head, wanting to smack herself but not having free hands to do so. 

"You should hurry and give that to him before it cools." He said with the slightest hint of a smile.

Marinette nodded and went off. 

-

"You okay, man?" Nino peered at his bedridden friend as he began to stir again. Adrien blinked tiredly and remembered that his friends had come to visit. A smile stretched across his face when he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t help but feel ridiculously happy even though he had some concerns about them catching whatever he had. He sat up in his bed to see Nino and Alya peering at him affectionately, like a doting pair of parents. 

“How is it that you still look damn good while sick, with bed-hair plastered to your face from sweat?” Nino said, jokingly offended by his friend’s good looks. Adrien chuckled, trying his best to ignore his dry, burning throat. Then he noticed that one of them was missing. 

"Where's Marinette?" Adrien asked as he scanned the room. 

"Right here." He heard her voice and the closing of a door before she came into view with a tray in her hands. "Are you feeling well enough to eat something?"

Adrien nodded and then cocked his head in confusion. He was curious as to why Marinette was the one bringing him lunch. She approached his bed and set the tray down on his bedside table. He eyed the tray, seeing a steaming bowl and mug settled on it. 

"I hope you don't mind but I made you some soup and tea." Marinette said as she played with a pigtail nervously. But her shyness flew completely over his head as he was too stunned by what she did for him.

"W-what?" Adrien flubbed. Alya had to bite back a laugh and Nino pinched her arm, silently telling her to give the sick boy a break. 

"I made you soup. It might not taste very good but it'll make you feel better." She wrenched her hands. Despite her saying that, she hoped that he would enjoy the taste of it. Knowing Adrien, he’d suffer through eating bad soup to spare her feelings. 

"Thank you, Marinette. I really appreciate it." He said, still not able to express all of the emotions that were swirling inside his chest. 

"It's no problem. Sorry it took so long. We have to head back to school now but eat it while it's still warm." Marinette said as she gathered her bag. Adrien nodded numbly and waved to his friends who showed themselves out. But before they left his field of vision, he found himself calling out. 

"Thanks for coming guys. I'm really happy."

"No prob, dude!" Nino grinned and Alya nodded along. Marinette gave him a sweet smile and his heart lurched.

"Marinette,"

"Hm?" She blinked, waiting for him to continue but his tongue stuck in his mouth. He hadn't meant to say her name aloud. There were just so many things he wanted to say to her. 

"I... Never mind. It's nothing." 

Despite his dismissal, Marinette still lingered there. She idly noted Alya dragging Nino out of the room before walking back to Adrien's side. His eyes trailed her the whole way. She took a seat on the edge of his bed, to his right and gazed at him with concern. 

"Adrien, what's wrong?" Marinette asked softly, noticing that his eyes were slightly glazed over. 

"Nothing's wrong! Far from wrong." He said quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea. He brought a hand up to rub his eyes, mortified that he was about to cry in front of her. "I'm just... I can't believe you did so much for me." He said, wiping any semblance of moisture from his eyes. 

Marinette knew that he was probably missing his mother. From the way he'd mistakenly called her earlier and the way he eyed the bowl of soup. She was sure he was feeling lonely. He looked so small to her at the moment and it made her want to give him a tight hug. She held herself back and instead placed a hand over his. 

"Of course. You're an important friend to me and I want you to get better as soon as possible." She said, giving his hand a squeeze. 

Adrien felt his chest tighten at the word friend. He knew he shouldn't have been bothered by it. That's exactly what their relationship was. But even that fact didn't stop him from turning his hand upwards to intertwine his fingers with hers. He watched her eyes flicker down to their hands, lips parting slightly in surprise before a smile appeared. His heart fluttered when she didn't reject him on the spot. Instead, he felt the bed dip as she moved closer and placed a kiss on his forehead. 

His body felt impossibly hot and he was sure it wasn't from his fever. He just stared at Marinette in surprise as she pulled back and gave him a smile. 

"I'll come visit you again after school. So eat up and rest. If you're up for it, I'll kick your ass in Mecha Strike." She grinned. 

After Marinette left, Adrien dropped his head into and hands and sighed deeply. He gave himself a swift slap on both cheeks before turning a resolute gaze to the bowl of soup. Standing up, he grabbed the tray and walked over to his desk, pulling up the Ladyblog onto his monitor. As he browsed through the site, he began to eat the soup that Marinette made especially for him. 

"It's delicious..." He mumbled in contentment.

-

He'd just finished his shower when he heard Marinette return that afternoon. He wanted to wash his body from all the sweat before she arrived. He was feeling a lot better. Her soup had helped him feel less congested and his temperature stopped spiking as much. Though he could probably go for another cup of that honeyed tea for his throat. He had several cups sent up previously but none of them were as good as Marinette's. He heard the voices of Nathalie and Marinette approaching his door. There was a knock and instead of calling out for them to come in, he walked over and opened it. 

"Hey, Marinette." He said complacently with a smile on his face. She blinked at him taking in his freshly bathed appearance, hair still dripping wet into the towel sitting around his neck. 

"I'll leave you two." Nathalie said before nodding to Marinette. The girl returned the gesture before stepping into Adrien's room. 

"You're looking better." Marinette said, pleased that he had regained some color back in his face. Adrien hummed as he closed the door and followed her in.

"I should have father hire you as our new chef. Your soup and tea really hit the spot." He chuckled when she raised a brow at him.

"It was really basic soup you know. And the tea was simply steeped with some honey added to it." She remarked, amused that he thought she could replace their starred chef. 

"And yet I haven't been able to get any as good as yours. Everything you make is exquisite." He winked at her and she couldn't stop herself from blushing. 

"Okay, enough with the flattery." Marinette said and placed her bag down on the couch. "I probably shouldn't have since you're sick but I brought you some cream puffs as a treat." She held up a box and his eyes lit up. He reached for the box but she pulled back. 

"Uh-uh-uh..." She smirked mirthfully at him and pointed over to the couch. "Sit down." She commanded. He obeyed albeit with a pout of his face. She then circled around to the back of the couch, stopping right behind him. Adrien turned curiously to her only to have her pull the towel from his neck and throw it over his head. 

"Marinette?" He called questioningly. 

"You should make sure to dry your hair well. Your house is a little chilly and you don't want your cold to get worse." Her voice was soft and gentle, much like the hands that started to massage the towel through his hair, carefully drying it.

Adrien closed his eyes and let himself be pampered. It was strange how much he enjoyed it. He never particularly cared for it when he got this kind of treatment at work. But like her cooking, Marinette's hands seemed magical to him, her touch melting all his troubles away. 

_ Ah-choo! _

"See what I mean?" Marinette laughed and pulled back, immediately making him feel colder. But it went as soon as it came, when a heavy feeling fell upon his shoulders. He turned to see that Marinette had pulled the comforter from his bed and draped it around him. He shot her a grateful look. She paused and blinked at his tousled hair before smiling.

"Up for some games?" Her eyes twinkled playfully. 

"You bet." He grinned impishly and patted the space to his left for her sit and she happily obliged. 

An hour and several brutal defeats later, Adrien fell back against the couch and groaned. His head rested atop the back of the couch and he stared at the ceiling in self-pity. 

"Savage Mari, just savage. Have some pity on the sick person." He rolled his head over to face her and pouted, earning a giggle. 

"I'm sure you wouldn't be happy if I went easy on you." She teased and raised a finger to poke his nose. His eyes followed the appendage as it withdrew and fell back down to her side. 

"True." He turned back towards and ceiling and sighed before closing his eyes. He could still feel the warmth of her finger where she poked him, even though it was so brief. He hazily thought back to all the times she touched him, the kisses, the hand-holding—every single moment just made his skin crawl with want for more. 

There was no escaping the truth. He was undoubtedly in love with her. He had fallen fast and hard, just like he did with Ladybug. And just for the moment, just for today, he wanted to indulge himself. 

"Are you tired? I should go so you can rest." 

"Stay." He breathed before letting his body fall over, head dropping into her lap. 

"A-Adrien!" She stammered, surprised at the new position. "Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, wondering if his fever was returning and he was feeling faint. 

"Perfect." Adrien hummed in reply and curled up into his blanket. The corners of her lips tugged up into a smile at the balled-up form resting on her lap. Any embarrassment she felt melted away when she heard him sigh contentedly. 

"Do you want to watch a movie?" She asked, raising the remote control that sat next to her.

Adrien didn't respond with words but only nodded, cheek rubbing against her thigh. Even though her jeans were hardly soft against his face, the feeling of her body heat on his cheek just made him want to snuggle closer. She giggled half out of ticklishness and half out of humor. 

"You're such a cat." She said and began to run her fingers through his hair as if she were petting a large pet cat. She put a movie on and lowered the volume in case he wanted to sleep. But halfway through the movie, she found herself drifting off. 

"Marinette?" Adrien called softly from what he deemed was his new favorite spot. She hummed in acknowledgment and started patting his hair again. He closed his eyes and reveled in the feeling of her fingers against his scalp. "Thanks for coming by again. You're the best." He breathed, losing his own battle against the sleep that wanted to consume him.

-

Adrien roused from his slumber when he heard a squeak, followed by a sudden movement from under his body. He opened his heavy eyelids to see yellow. He tiredly wondered when the housekeeper changed his sheets. It took him another minute to realize that a fast, rhythmic beating was coming from his pillow. 

Then it hit him that his pillow wasn't actually a pillow. His eyes widened and a jolt of nervousness shot up his spine. The softness that was currently under his cheek was nothing other than Marinette's midsection and the pale yellow color he was looking at was her shirt.

He wasn’t exactly sure how they had gotten into such a position, with him sprawled over her reclined body, hugging it tightly. Hadn’t she been sitting up? He pushed himself up to see her flushed and surprised face. He couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t every day that you went to a friend’s place to play games, only to end up snuggled under said friend.

Adrien sputtered out a quick apology and climbed off of her, allowing her to get up and collect herself. He watched her smooth out her shirt from the corner of his eye and saw her shake her head.

“It’s okay. We both must have been really tired, huh?” She said and chuckled, face still pink in embarrassment.

“Yeah…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“I should get going. It’s almost dinner time and my parents are expecting me back.” Marinette said, not even waiting for a reply before she hastily stood. But Marinette being Marinette meant only one thing: ultimate disaster. She should have seen it coming—really, she should have. Her clumsiness was always at its worst when she was flustered. Her mind would go into a flurried hyper-drive and make her less aware of her surroundings. So it was only natural that she’d get her foot caught in the comforter, making her lose her balance.

Of course with Adrien being the gentleman he was, he dove in to break her fall. Marinette wanted to smack herself for the millionth time that day, making a sick person strain themselves further due to her inability to operate like a normal human being. Now they both ended up on the floor, Adrien successfully preventing her from face-planting and making an utter fool of herself—though this probably wasn’t any better in that regard. 

“Oh my god! Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I’m such a klutz!” Marinette blathered as she scrambled to get up. But the more she clambered around, the more tangled up they became in the blanket until she collapsed back onto him in a heap. 

“I’m sorry.” She whimpered in defeat before carefully pushing herself up this time. But doing so only made her face sear as she realized just how incredibly close her face was to his. To her comfort, he looked just as startled and flustered as she felt.

Adrien willed himself to say something, anything. But every word he thought of died on his tongue before he could get it out. He found himself getting lost in her eyes and just how brilliantly they shone, like the sky bathing in the morning sun. It didn’t help that she was watching him just as intently. When he finally managed to break his gaze, his eyes only succeeded in flickering down to her lips. He swallowed painfully, remembering that he was sick and being this close to her would ensure that she’d catch his sickness. But just as he began pushing himself up, her lips descended onto his.

He completely blanked out and she pulled away before he could make any sense of what just happened. Her cheeks were aflame and she bit her lip as her eyes searched his questioningly. A few more seconds transpired before he finally grasped the situation. Heat coursed through his entire body at the realization that Marinette just kissed him. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who could quite literally have her pick of any guy, willingly kissed  _ him _ —the giant dork of a boy who had more issues than he could count. Emotional baggage aside, he was sick. Had she no sense of self-preservation?

Perhaps he was silent for too long because she started to shift uncomfortably, averting her eyes.

“Sorry, I… um…” She mumbled before moving to sit up.

His heart thudded loudly in his ears. Why was she apologizing? Did she not mean to do it? Did she think he was rejecting her? Which was worse? Knowing that Marinette held no romantic feelings for him made his heart twinge, but the thought of her thinking that he had rejected her— _ no, no, no, no _ . Like him, Marinette also had her bouts of self-doubt and there was no way that he was going to be the cause of more of it. He sat up and grasped her hand, making her turn her attention back to him. She glanced down at them in question.

“I…” He started, trying to formulate a coherent sentence. She turned her gaze up and her eyes gleamed with anticipation. 

_ ‘Ah, to hell with it.’ _ He thought. She was going to get sick anyway.


	6. La Clarté

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette struggles with her burdens of being a hero and Adrien realizes how blind he's been.

Despite her best friend being sick, Alya was very pleased with the situation. Judging from the sniffling lump curled up in the middle of the bed, Alya assumed that Marinette must have returned to the Agreste mansion after they’d left. Marinette had barely been in the room when they visited during lunch so the only logical explanation was that she had gone to see him again. It had been three days since then, but just as Adrien was well enough to return to school, Marinette ended up falling ill.

Somewhere within the past few months, she had noticed Marinette becoming more withdrawn from everyone. She was certain that Marinette still held affection for Adrien, but the girl ceased her pursuit of him. To tell the truth, she and Nino had been purposely ditching their best friends in hopes that the wall that suddenly appeared between the two would crumble. 

“So what did you do?” Alya asked as she climbed onto the bed, sitting cross-legged next to Marinette. She peered at the girl, whose head was barely poking out from under her covers.

“Nothing.” Marinette mumbled. “I visited him again after school and we played games. That’s it.” Her voice was muffled by the blanket that Alya knew she was using to cover her flushed face. Clearly, something had happened, but she refused to talk about it. Alya hummed in amusement.

“Is this a ‘don’t kiss and tell’ situation?’” Alya asked nonchalantly. Her grin widened when Marinette’s head shot out.

“Alya!” She yelled, face covered in a deep crimson. Alya chuckled.

She wouldn’t have thought much about Marinette getting sick. After all, germs were so easily passed. But when she told Adrien earlier that day that Marinette was out sick, he had the most amusing reaction. He was worried, of course, but underneath the worry, she could see the way his face was tinged pink as his mind seemed to wander. Nino asked him if he was okay, thinking he was still sick and the blonde suddenly shouted out that ‘nothing happened.’ 

“You two are absolutely hilarious. You know, there’s nothing wrong with something happening, whatever that something is.” Alya ruffled Marinette’s hair before crawling back over to the stairs. “I’ll let you rest. But I want deets later."

Marinette sighed and tugged her blanket back up over her face and thought back to the moment three days ago. 

Tossing all reservations aside, Adrien had pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She remembered the feeling of her heart pounding in her chest and the excitement that coursed through every nerve in her body. When they separated, she still kept her eyes closed as she rested her forehead against his.

“Chaton.” She breathed. She had been sure of it. It just seemed to click when she spent the afternoon with him—from his messy towel-dried hair to his balled-up form as he rested on her lap. When she had fallen on him and watched his vivid green eyes and golden hair, she had to make sure of it. So she had kissed him. And it was exactly like the first kiss she’d shared with him.

“My Lady.” He had replied. 

And just like that, their secrets were out in the open. It wasn’t anything grand. It was just what it was. She was Ladybug. Adrien was Chat Noir. After the whole event, if it could be called one, she stood and helped him up. They shared a shy smile towards one another before she remembered again, that she had to go home for dinner. Bidding him farewell and wishing him a get well soon, she made her way home.

Marinette decided not to visit again after that because he needed his rest and she knew that it would be too much of a distraction, for him and for her. She needed time to think, to evaluate her whole situation. She sighed and peered at the wall across from her before closing her eyes tiredly. 

The past week had been a mess in the making. She knew she was toeing a dangerous line; from the small acts of physical affection to the visits to his house. She had resolved to keep everyone at a safe distance. As much as she yearned for closeness, for romance, she couldn’t allow herself that luxury. She had her responsibilities as Ladybug and eventually, she would take Master Fu’s place as guardian. 

On the one hand, knowing that Adrien was Chat Noir filled her with a sense of relief because that meant he was capable of keeping himself safe. But on the other, she knew that knowing each other’s identities would have serious implications. They would know twice as much, worry twice as much.

A light knock came from above her, disrupting her thoughts. She knew exactly what it was or rather, who. Adrien had been texting her throughout the day to ask how she was doing. She cracked open an eye to peer out of her skylight to see a hint of black at the corner.

“It’s open. You can come in.” She said quietly, knowing that he’d be able to hear her. She noticed some hesitation on his part and smiled at his nervousness. She shifted on her bed until she was sitting up and out of the way of his landing. She noticed a flower petal fluttering down before she felt her bed sink and pink flooded her vision.

Marinette blinked at the sweet-smelling flowers in front of her before shifting her eyes up to meet Chat’s gaze. A deep blush covered his cheeks as he held the bouquet of flowers out towards her. 

“Oh, Adrien...” She took the bouquet from his hands and closed her eyes, enjoying the scent of the freesias and sweet peas. “Thank you. I love them.” An audible sigh of relief passed through his lips and she giggled.

“How are you feeling?” Chat asked.

“Better now that you're here.” She said, repeating the line that he said to her when she had visited him. It was nice to see that it invoked the same reaction out of him. “So is there a reason why you couldn’t use the front door?”

Chat’s blush grew even redder as he eyed the bouquet. There was no doubt in Marinette’s mind that he was too embarrassed to show up at her door with it. Her parents surely would have questioned him and considering that they hadn't even talked to each other about their relationship, it was unlikely that he could answer anything. 

“I didn't want to run into Alya.” He murmured. 

Ah, that too. Dear friend she may be, Alya was just too nosy. They wouldn't hear the end of it if she spotted him. 

“Are you feeling better?” Marinette asked. 

“Still a bit of a sore throat but much better. I’m sorry for getting you sick.” Chat frowned. Whatever he had had made him absolutely miserable and the last thing he wanted was for Marinette to suffer the same. Her eyes looked tired and her skin pallid. She placed the flowers aside and took his hand into hers.

“It was as much my fault as yours.” She said as she stared down at his ring. Adrien had been wearing this ring for two years. Two years unnoticed by her. In retrospect, she felt foolish for not connecting the dots sooner.

“You’re… not mad?” He asked and she could hear the confusion in his voice. At first, she couldn’t understand why he would think that. He hadn’t done anything to earn her ire. But she realized that she hadn’t seen him since the incident at his house and he must have thought she was avoiding him. 

“I’m not mad. I’m sorry if I made you worry. I had a lot to think about.” She said. A slight smile graced her lips but it didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I’m just…” She hesitated and he squeezed her hand worriedly. The concern that shone in his eyes made her falter and she let out a shaky breath. 

"This wasn't supposed to happen." She said. The slight twitch of his hand at her words made her realize how callous she had sounded. She didn’t want him to think that her feelings were insincere because that was the furthest thing from the truth. “No, wait. That’s not what I meant. What happened that day— as much as I wanted to, I shouldn’t have— I just—” Her sentences were disjointed and Chat could clearly see the stress on her features.

“I just can’t.” She finally eked out with much effort. “I can’t let myself be distracted by this. I have responsibilities. I need to be on top of things. We've been at this for two years, but we’re still no closer to Papillon." With the reality of their current stalemate spoken aloud, Marinette felt her chest tighten and her anxiety rise.

"Even if we did defeat Papillon, another enemy could easily arise. And Master Fu eventually wants me to take his place as guardian of the Miraculous. What if I live as long as he does? What if everyone dies before me and… and I—" Her throat felt constricted and she choked back a sob. One teardrop fell. And then another. She pulled her hands away from his and buried her face in them. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, letting her cry on his shoulder. 

He felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. On a fundamental level, he knew that Ladybug had a much larger responsibility than he did, but he never knew just how much she had to bear. He was appalled by his ignorance. He had gleefully taken on the mantle of Chat Noir, seeing it as a way to obtain the freedom he sorely wanted. He never realized that being Ladybug had only shackled Marinette down. 

“I’m sorry, Bug. I’m sorry. If only I had been a more reliable partner.” Maybe he could have taken some of the burden off of her shoulders. If anything, he felt that he had only added more to her plate and he felt so, so angry at himself for it.

He silently swore to himself that he’d work harder. He knew that he was a liability. The number of times he came under an akuma’s control was much more than either of them would have liked. And now that he knew who Ladybug was, she was going to be in danger because of him. But he couldn’t let his own panic rise. Marinette needed him to be calm. He needed to pretend that everything would be okay, despite his uncertainty.

He soothingly rubbed her back as she cried, hoping it would bring her some comfort. Aside from being frustrated with himself, he was frustrated with Master Fu. How could the man just dump everything on a single girl like that? 

"You're allowed to be selfish, Marinette." Chat said and moved to stroking her hair. "I don't know what Fu is telling you, but he can't just expect you to put your life on the back-burner because some idiot lost the Butterfly Miraculous and got us into this mess. We're teenagers for goodness sake. We're meant to be screw-ups!" 

Marinette let out a short laugh and pulled away, rubbing the tears from her face.

"Thank you, Chat. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to unload everything on you like that.” She sniffled.

“No. I want you to. Please.” He responded, much to her surprise. “I know I’m not the most observant and I’m oblivious to a lot of things. But I want to be there for you. So if anything is wrong, I’m right here. We’re partners, right?” He grinned and held his fist up. She stared at it before a smile stretched across her face.

“Partners.” She said as she bumped her fist against his.

“I should get going. I think class has started and you need to get your rest.” 

Marinette nodded and Chat saluted her. But instead of leaving right away, he stared at her for a bit before leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Her blush was hidden by her already flushed face. He grinned at her before exiting the way he came.

After gathering herself physically and emotionally, Marinette fell back on her bed and sighed. Because of her mini-meltdown, they didn’t get a chance to talk about the state of their relationship. She wanted to be with him, that was a given. And from his actions, she concluded that the same could be said for him. But she questioned whether it was even a possibility. Exhausted from sickness and crying, she decided to save the topic for another time. She let her eyes close and she drifted off towards much needed sleep. 

Unfortunately, superheroes didn’t get sick days.

It was only a few hours later when disaster struck. Marinette groaned as she pulled herself up, hair in disarray, with a pounding headache and an even sorer throat than before. She called for Tikki and the Kwami looked at her worriedly.

“Don’t worry Tikki. I’ll be careful.” She tried to smile but it came out as more of a grimace. Tikki would have loved to argue but she couldn’t. Ladybug was needed out there to cleanse the akuma. 

When she came to a skidding halt next to Chat, he stared wide-eyed at her and his mouth opened and closed a few times, clearly wanting to say something. But he held his tongue. Even in her unwell state, she could see that he was fighting back the urge to scold her for being out of bed.

As she expected, him knowing that she was Marinette and that she was sick was already becoming a distraction for him. She could tell that he was trying his best to ignore it, giving her space to work and not hovering over her in worry. But she found his eyes trailing to her more often than usual, concern etched deep in his eyes. 

It was fortunate for them that the akuma wasn’t difficult to deal with. After defeating it and reversing any damage the city took, Ladybug raised a hand and wiped her brow tiredly. Her head was still aching and she swayed slightly from dizziness.

Droplets of water began to descend from the sky and she looked up and sighed in exhaustion. She took a step forward but her legs trembled unsteadily. Chat Noir immediately went to her side and helped her steady herself. She glanced up at him thankfully.

“Come on, Bug. Let’s get you home.” Chat took her into his arms and began jumping off towards her home. She held onto him, finding immediate comfort within his embrace. It didn’t even matter that the rain was steadily soaking them. 

“Chat?” She mumbled, just barely loud enough to be heard over the wind and rain.

“Yeah?” 

“You were distracted.” There wasn’t any hint of accusation in her tone. She said it as if it was simply an observation. Quite frankly, she couldn’t really muster the energy to evaluate their battle.

“Was I?” He questioned. He held her shivering body closer and tried his best to shield her from the elements. As much as he appreciated earlier that the akuma attacked far from her home, he was now irritated by the distance and time it took to get her back. He heard her earrings sound, signaling that she was down to her last minute.

“You were. Knowing that I was sick was a distraction.” 

Chat hummed as he pondered over her words.

“I don’t see it that way.” He stated after some deliberation. “Yes, I was conscious of you being sick. But I think that knowing was a benefit to the both of us. If we know each other’s current capabilities, we can plan and adjust for it.

She had never looked at it that way before. After running his words through mind a few times, she had to admit that it would be useful to know the other’s situation. The extra knowledge of her partner’s identity would allow for more planning, even outside of the suit. No more guessing where the other was, why they were late, or why they didn’t show up. She wasn’t sure if she was seeing a moment of clarity or whether it was delusional thinking thanks to her fever.

Her earrings sounded for the final time and her transformation was undone. Tikki landed on her chest with a quiet groan before crawling into Marinette’s cardigan to keep warm. Chat quietly cursed and assured her that they were almost there.

When they reached her balcony, he gently placed her down. Before he could usher her to the hatch to her bedroom, she turned and looked at him. She raised a hand to his cheek and ran her thumb along the edge of his mask. He placed his hand over hers and let his transformation fade. She continued to gaze at him, taking in the tenderness of his eyes and the devotion that showed clearly in his expression. 

She lowered her hand and stepped towards him and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her. She placed her ear against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. The rain that continued to fall on them was merely an afterthought to her.

“Is it really okay for me to be selfish?” She asked.

“I’ll fight the whole world if I have to, to give you your freedom.” He replied. There was no trace of humor in his tone. “You do so much. You give everything you have to keep everyone safe. You deserve to be happy.”

She knew it was wrong. His lack of affirmation to her question told her that he also knew it was wrong. It was obvious that if it ever came down to it, the safety of the world was more important than the life of one girl. But nonetheless, she wanted to believe in his words.

She shivered when she pulled away from the warmth of his embrace. Placing her hands on his chest, she looked up at him, “I don’t want to be alone.” She murmured.

“You won’t be.” He brushed her wet hair from her face, fingers tilting her face slightly as he leaned down. She rose onto her tippy toes and her eyes fluttered closed before meeting him for a kiss.

"We're making a mistake.” She whispered against his lips. Despite her words, she couldn’t bring herself to part from him. It wasn’t likely that he would let her go even if she tried.

“At least we’re making it together.” 


End file.
